Texas Southern athletic director Kevin Granger sat within the media room at a desk inside Shell Vitality Stadium and did his finest to promote that Cris Dishman was the best coach to steer a soccer program that hadn’t cobbled collectively a successful season in additional than twenty years.
“It was a course of that we needed to undergo to get up to now, and I like the place we’re at,” mentioned Granger on Tuesday throughout an introductory press convention for Dishman. “I just like the consequence. I just like the rent. I actually suppose the rent goes to do loads for our college to reinforce it and to reinforce our student-athletes.”
How Texas Southern ended up with Dishman because the man didn’t occur with out inside dissent throughout the faculty’s Board of Regents, which reportedly shunned two-time SWAC title-winning coach Fred McNair for somebody the group believed higher match its aesthetic, tradition and desired celeb fluoresce.
“So, on the finish of the day, that is hopefully my final dialog about soccer,” mentioned Granger. “Now it’s time for me to present the ball to Coach Dishman and let him run with it.”
Dishman, the ex-NFL All-Professional defensive again, doesn’t stroll into Texas Southern with years of faculty {and professional} expertise with stops in Berlin, Germany, to the Energy 5 degree to the NFL.
Dishman can be tasked to reinforce a roster that sustained switch portal defections whereas additionally creating gamers who caught round even after the varsity didn’t retain Clarence McKinney after 5 dropping seasons.
Picture essay of immediately’s @dishman_cris press convention pic.twitter.com/vRtuanOBi4
— Texas Southern College (TSU) Athletics (@TXSOTigers) January 23, 2024
“We’ve got sufficient gamers to win now,” mentioned Dishman, who performed eight seasons with the Houston Oilers. “So, we’re simply getting different items in to assist, however the meat and potatoes of the group is right here. So, we’re not going to go wholesale and take out 30 (gamers) and herald 30 extra. “We’ve got sufficient expertise in that room to win. I’ve sufficient perception within the guys in that room to win. I’ve sufficient perception in our coaches to get them in the best areas to make us win.”
How the Dishman-led Tigers will look isn’t actually going to be identified till video games are performed seven months from now, however the soft-spoken coach affirmed that TSU will keep away from self-inflicted errors and be smarter.
Dishman stored it near the vest about what model of offense and protection the Tigers would run, although he did give a touch.
“A scoring offense. An offense that scores factors,” Dishman mentioned. “I need an offense that scores factors and a protection that stops folks from scoring factors. That’s the perfect I can inform you in regards to the model that we wish.
“I’m excited simply to have the chance to construct one thing and make it our manner,” mentioned Dishman. “I preserve telling the coaches, it’s not my group, it’s not my job. It’s our job. I determine if we will do it as an our, I believe it can work just a little bit higher.”
